Launch of H2020 Project ELENA
Launch of H2020 Project ELENA
First European Lithium Niobate on Insulator PIC PlatformThe ELENA project promises to benefit the entire photonics sector by developing the first European lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI)-based platform for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) and establishing the first open-access foundry service for LNOI technology. LNOI is a novel electro-optic and nonlinear PIC platform. It offers enhanced performance and new functionalities for ultra-high-speed telecom networks, optical signal processing, programmable PICs, sensing and spectroscopy, LIDAR applications, quantum information processing and quantum computing. ELENA is a collaborative Research and Innovation Action funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme.
What ELENA is about
ELENA is an acronym for the project title European electro-optic and nonlinear PIC platform based on lithium niobate. The project consortium aims to reinvent one of the oldest and best-known photonics materials – lithium niobate – in the form of a thin film on silicon substrates to be used as a standard PIC platform and benefit from miniaturization, cost reduction, and scalable manufacturing of PICs.
ELENA will pave the way for the world’s first open-access PIC foundry for LNOI technology based on a Process Design Kit (PDK) library. The platform will be open to all interested stakeholders from the photonics industry and R&D at an affordable price. ELENA also plans to develop a fully European industrial supply chain for LNOI technology including LNOI wafer manufacturing, a high-yield fabrication process for foundry service, a design software to incorporate the PDK, and packaging and interfacing of LNOI PICs. The partnership includes end users who will demonstrate the use of the technology and validate the results by developing PICs for applications in telecom, quantum technologies and microwave photonics.
Fully European supply chain
Besides a high-yield fabrication process and the PDK library, ELENA intends to set up a fully European supply chain for the new LNOI platform to support its industrial scale-up. This includes
- establishing a process to produce 150 mm optical grade LNOI wafers on an industrial scale;
- developing a reliable and flexible packaging solution to interface LNOI chips with optical fibres and other PIC platforms;
- demonstrating the technology and validating the results by developing four PIC prototypes designed for different use cases: telecom, quantum technologies and microwave photonics.
ELENA is funded under the H2020 program of the European Commission. The total budget is five million Euros, and the project duration is forty-two months, from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2025. ELENA is coordinated by the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM). The project consortium comprises three leading research institutes, four large industrial companies and three SMEs and thus combines all the competencies required to achieve the ambitious goals.
Project Website
Contacts ELENA
Dr. Amir Hossein Ghadimi
Project Coordinator
Contact Swissphotonics
Dr. Christian Bosshard
Managing director Swissphotonics
+41 79 405 18 26
20 February 2022, Beni Muller + Iris Bollinger
